Need help on workout routine.

[bamf775]

Ok, so I have decided to get off my a** and start going back to the gym and lose weight. I am trying to find some helpful tips on workout routines and other weight loss advice. Starting today after work I will go to the gym and try and break a sweat. However, I have a little understanding on the best approaches to weight loss. I know that you should start working out about 5 min after you wake up every morning rather then after work in the evening. So, tomorrow... I will try and start that routine. I know that eating better is a big contributer but I think working out will give me that motivation to eat better.

I don't know if this info is necessary for a workout routine but here it is;

I am 25 yrs old
I currently weigh 235lbs - my gaol is to weigh 180 or 175.
I am 5'8"

with that info what do you propose would be the best workout routine for me? I need days per week - hours per day - and what stretches/cardio/free weights I should do with each day. I prefer free weights over machines but if machines are better for you then I would like to know. I know that resistance weight is the best but I don't have that available.

any help would be awesome.

[Deleted]

I highly recommend this guy: http://scoobysworkshop.com/
He's one of the best guys i've ever seen. He has alot of useful things on his website.
Try clicking around. You might find something good.

[RockStrongo]

Ok, so I have decided to get off my a** and start going back to the gym and lose weight. I am trying to find some helpful tips on workout routines and other weight loss advice. Starting today after work I will go to the gym and try and break a sweat. However, I have a little understanding on the best approaches to weight loss. I know that you should start working out about 5 min after you wake up every morning rather then after work in the evening. So, tomorrow... I will try and start that routine. I know that eating better is a big contributer but I think working out will give me that motivation to eat better.

I don't know if this info is necessary for a workout routine but here it is;

I am 25 yrs old
I currently weigh 235lbs - my gaol is to weigh 180 or 175.
I am 5'8"

with that info what do you propose would be the best workout routine for me? I need days per week - hours per day - and what stretches/cardio/free weights I should do with each day. I prefer free weights over machines but if machines are better for you then I would like to know. I know that resistance weight is the best but I don't have that available.

any help would be awesome.

First off, abandon your plan of going to the gym today after work. Better do some research first before you hurt yourself. Working out 5 min after you wake up is definitely not a good idea.

Read some other forums that are geared towards bodybuilding/health to get an idea on how to start. You won't find a whole lot of good advice here. Some posters on this site are very informative.

To give you a rough idea on how much you should be eating, go here:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
Calculate your BMR, then click on the text "Harris Benedict Equation" and follow those instructions. Subtract 500 calories from your answer, and that is approximately how much you should consume in order to lose weight (note that the equation and calculator are very generalized and should just be used as guidelines).

[S0V3R31GN]

This site has some excellent workout routines to use. I highly recommend you check it out. Here direct link to a beginner workout routine I would start with.

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...s-workout.html

-Drink lots of water
-Try to keep workouts under 1 hour
-Meals should be a fist size of carbs, and another fist size of protein. +Some fruit and/or veggies

When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before.

[Morte]

I just turned a new leaf in the last month to get in better shape too. I am about to cancel my gym membership though since I now use a Total Gym in my own home. (Btw the Total Gym is a fantastic piece of equipment )

Anyway -- if your main goal is to cut weight / fat....you want to focus on cardio. Cardio is the fat burner....weights tone and build muscle....but is a very slow way to lose fat.

My total gym has a cycle attachment -- so I alternate my days....total gym exercises (resistance training - toning and muscle building work outs) and then the next day I just do cardio exercises with the cycle I aim for 30 mins....right now I'm spent at half that time...but 30 mins is my goal. There's 16 levels of resistance on the cycle....right now I've been working out at level 10. I'll kick it up higher once I can go the full 30 mins at lvl 10.

And of course how you eat is HUGE.....you can bust your arse like you never believe you would ...but if you eat burgers and fries, pizza, chips, cupcakes, etc. all the time still...you are only being counter-productive to your workouts.

[bamf775]

First off, abandon your plan of going to the gym today after work. Better do some research first before you hurt yourself. Working out 5 min after you wake up is definitely not a good idea.

Read some other forums that are geared towards bodybuilding/health to get an idea on how to start. You won't find a whole lot of good advice here. Some posters on this site are very informative.

I heard from Dr. Oz that you should workout 5 min after you wakeup because it helps you burn fat faster.

[Clevername]

Most important in a workout routine is that you don't get bored and it encompasses flexibility, strength and endurance training. All this is accomplished by doing crossfit the workouts vary all the time so you never get bored and always are challenging. I recommend going to crossfit.com to find their daily workouts or my personal gym crossfitintegrity.com either of these work. Also diet is extremely important I currently am eating the paleo diet, google it and you can find the basics. The two of these in combination and you should see the weight drop and strength go up. Eat clean and workout 4 times a week and you will be amazed at the results.
I don't know if this info is necessary for a workout routine but here it is;

I am 25 yrs old
I currently weigh 235lbs - my gaol is to weigh 180 or 175.
I am 5'8"

with that info what do you propose would be the best workout routine for me? I need days per week - hours per day - and what stretches/cardio/free weights I should do with each day. I prefer free weights over machines but if machines are better for you then I would like to know. I know that resistance weight is the best but I don't have that available.

any help would be awesome.[/QUOTE]

[RockStrongo]

I heard from Dr. Oz that you should workout 5 min after you wakeup because it helps you burn fat faster.

Second tip: never ever ever ever ever ever take what he says seriously.
It's generally a good idea to warm up/stretch for about 10 minutes before a workout. So if you're going to work out in the morning, at least make sure you're adequately "warm" before doing so. 5 minutes is certainly not enough.

[BIG ROB]

I highly recommend this guy: http://scoobysworkshop.com/
He's one of the best guys i've ever seen. He has alot of useful things on his website.
Try clicking around. You might find something good.

this will point you in the right direction. one thing you have to watch out for is once you start working out you hope to get motivated to eat better. with me when i work out im more hungry so i tend to eat more. your diet is the most important part of trying to lose weight. you can always out eat your workout progress. on your workout do what you like. if you like free weights do them. changes are if you dont like doing something you wont stick with it.

[bamf775]

is portion size more important than what you eat? I don't think I can handle eating vegetables all the time. I know I can eat less, but what I eat might be mroe difficult for me.

[Destrkr]

Realistically, I seriously doubt you are going to jump straight into a serious exercise/workout routine and stick with it. I suggest you find the most convenient time of day and spend as much time as you can on the treadmill. You should spend at least 20-30 min putting in some serious effort (stop because you are tired not because you are bored). If you are interested in a full body workout you could try one of the sites suggested by the other people in this thread but i think it would be a safer bet to do the basics like pushups and situps and maybe throw in a few extra exercises to take care of whatever you think needs the most work.

[Waynhim]

Loosing weight is real easy;

- Start the workout with 20-40 minutes of aerob excersise, stairmaster highly recommended as you use more muscles there then running/cycling.
- Follow up with exercises like squat and/or dead lift. These use more or less the whole body.

Personally I do deadlift/back/Latissimus Dorsi and bicep day one and Squat/chest/triceps/shoulders the other. You can do crunches/abdomen at home on your days off.

After this you'll "burn" for like 15+ hours after.

Make sure to eat a lot of whole grain and fiber which has numerous boons, (among them being slow on the digestive system so you don't get hungry that fast), and try to get a daily dose of Omega 3. Have a full meal a couple of hours before hitting the gym and right after. Try to eat low energy food on your other meals, but enough to keep you sated because if you starve yourself you'll eventually eat unhealthy food..

[bamf775]

Loosing weight is real easy;

- Start the workout with 20-40 minutes of aerob excersise, stairmaster highly recommended as you use more muscles there then running/cycling.
- Follow up with exercises like squat and/or dead lift. These use more or less the whole body.

Personally I do deadlift/back/Latissimus Dorsi and bicep day one and Squat/chest/triceps the other. You can do crunches/abdomen at home.

After this you'll "burn" for like 15+ hours after.

Make sure to eat a lot of whole grain and fiber which has numerous boons and try to get a daily dose of Omega 3. Have a full meal a couple of hours before hitting the gym and right after. Try to eat low energy food on your other meals.

Thank you for this. How long should I be stretching before my cardio?

[RockStrongo]

is portion size more important than what you eat? I don't think I can handle eating vegetables all the time. I know I can eat less, but what I eat might be mroe difficult for me.

Yes, try to eat 6 smaller meals in a day instead of 3.

Also, go read up on some of the sites that were linked in this thread. There's tonnes of information out there, don't make us do all the legwork.

[Joben]

I sent you a private message OP. I'm not up for debating right/wrongs with what people see on TV or internet.
I have worked as a personal trainer & been in similar situation as you once. See message and I'd be happy to discuss a plan with you.
Have a great day.

[Deleted]

is portion size more important than what you eat? I don't think I can handle eating vegetables all the time. I know I can eat less, but what I eat might be mroe difficult for me.

One word: Motivation.
Loosing weight is all about motivation. If your thinking. "aight, i im only going to eat healty for now on" then ur aint getting nowhere!
Instead say to urself that, for instance. Monday-thursday im going to eat as healty as possi. While in the weekend im allowed to eat unhealty. If ur going to eat healty all week then ur motivation will drop and u will prolly fail in a matter of days.

Same thing with the worksouts. Slowly build up ur motivation. Taking one week at a time and u will see progress.

[Waynhim]

Personally I don't stretch, as you mainly are doing antagonist-muscle groups, (working opposite around the same ligaments), your body remains in balance or at least won't get less flexible unless you start overfocusing on one group. (I'm 40 and I have no issues even after strength sessions (5-8 rep sets)).

[electrikfuzz]

Second tip: never ever ever ever ever ever take what he says seriously.
It's generally a good idea to warm up/stretch for about 10 minutes before a workout. So if you're going to work out in the morning, at least make sure you're adequately "warm" before doing so. 5 minutes is certainly not enough.

To be fair, on an empty stomach you do burn more fat. Instead of taking the calories from the food you've eaten, the body depletes fat stores.

And the best workout is to stop eating bad food. If you're 50lbs overweight you can easily lose half of that by eating better.

[jaimelannister]

FIRST: There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding health, working out, and eating right. Some of it is contained in this thread already, but not because it's a black and white thing where some people are wrong and some are right, but there is a huge gray area when it comes to this stuff.

The most important part of working out is not time of day, or cardio vs. weightlifting, or any of that stuff. It is about finding a routine that WORKS FOR YOU. If you hate cardio, then what difference does it make if cardio is 10% more effective (I made that number up) at fat burning than weightlifting? You need to figure out what you liked to do, not what is medically proven to be the most effective (and really, almost none of the current theories are 100% proven, so take everything you hear with a grain of salt). Personally, I was able to lose 20 pounds in 3 months with my main exercise being weightlifting, with only a little cardio thrown in, so if anyone tells you you MUST do cardio to burn fat, they are certainly wrong! Of course, changing my eating habits also played a part.

As for getting started at the gym, first check with your doctor to make sure you are fit enough for exercise and then do yourself a favor and shell out a little money for at least one session with a trainer. Tell the trainer what you're looking to do and tell him you need an hour of his time so he can help you be safe; don't let him just teach you a couple of exercises, which will be his typical routine, since then he can set you up to buy more sessions (though, by all means, if you have the financial ability, a trainer can be very helpful throughout the process).

Eating right is also a huge challenge, and one that will take a lot of work. I found portion control to be easier than trying to force myself to eat salads for every meal, but by the same token I also tried to cut back on junk food. There are tons of resources out there that can help you make smart food choices, and here again, it will be up to you to find a system that works for you. Two key bits of "wisdom" resonated with me that have helped me curb my terrible eating habits: 1. "if it crunches and it's not a vegetable, it's bad for you," and 2. think of how filling 1000 calories of junkfood (say a double cheeseburger) is, and compare that to how filling 1000 calories of banana would be (that's about 10-11 bananas) - I bet you can polish off a double cheeseburger and still have room for fries and an extra large soda; I bet you CANNOT eat 10 bananas in one sitting!

Take small steps rather than jumping in with both feet; you will never stick with a plan that requires sweepingly drastic lifestyle changes. Good luck!

[S0V3R31GN]

is portion size more important than what you eat? I don't think I can handle eating vegetables all the time. I know I can eat less, but what I eat might be mroe difficult for me.

I would stick to this as a guideline:
-Meals should be a fist size of carbs, and another fist size of protein. +Some fruit and/or veggies
-Eat every 3 hours (this speeds up your metabolism)
-Drink lots of water
-You can have a cheat day 1 day per week lets say every Friday... and you can literally eat anything you want like chocolate cake and pasta. *But you must be strict on ALL your other days.